Diesel engine



March 6, 1934. L. M. WOOLSO v ,949,556

DIESEL ENGINE Filed July 22, 1930 1% Walsum;

wur/aga Patented Mar. 6, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DIESEL ENGDNE Michigan Application July 22, 1930, Serial No. 469,892

11 Claims. (Cl. 12S-79) The present invention relates to internal combustion engines, particularly to engines of the radial type intended for use as airplane propelling power plants.

Airplane engines are, for the most part, mounted singly upon the planes which they are intended to propel, but in an increasing number of instances, particularly where very large planes are concerned, two engines of radial type are supported in axial alignment with each other, one engine facing forwardly with its propeller in advance of the same, and the other engine facing rearwardly with its propeller directed toward the rear of the airplane. Where two engines are mounted upon an airplane in this manner, the forward engine is said to be mounted as a puller and the rearward engine as a pusher.

In the manufacture of radial type engines, it is highly desirable to avoid the necessity of constructing certain engines as pusher engines and other engines as puller engines, and to also avoid the necessity of modifying the construction of a puller engine at any subsequent time, so as to render it capable of functioning as a pusher. The object of the present invention, therefore, is to provide an airplane engine of the radial type which can, without being modified to any appreciable extent, be used either as a pusher or a puller engine.

The invention is particularly directed to the improvement of the four-cycle Diesel type of internal combustion engine which is fully disclosed in my copending application, Serial No. 372,570, led June 21, 1929. In that application means for supplying air to the engine cylinders under the close control of an operator is fully disclosed, l

and it is furthermore explained that the mechanism illustrated may be so operated that any desired proportion of exhaust` gases may be introduced into the cylinders for the purpose of heating the same when'they become cold. The engine illustrated in that application, however, is strictly of the puller type and could not be readily reversed and used as a pusher engine.

The engine herein illus?-Y ated, and which will 'e described in detail in the following paragraphs, is so constructed that, without material change, it may be mounted upon an airplane facing forwardly or facing rearwardly, and, regardless of the direction in which the engine faces, the means for controlling the flow of air and exhaust products into the engine cylinders functions emciently, this means being reversible without change or modification.

The .Diesel engine upon which the present invention is an improvement is disclosed in part only in application Serial No. 372,570, above referred to, and, for a more full and complete description of the various component elements of the same, reference may be' had to my copending 60 application, Serial No. 358,899, led April 29, 1929. In the present specification only so much of the mechanism of the engine will be described in detail as appears to be necessary for a full understanding of the invention.

In the drawing:

Figure l is a side elevation of the forward portion of an airplane, showing a Diesel engine of radial type mounted thereon;

Figure 2is a transverse section through a por- 70 tion of one of the engine cylinders;

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the upper portionv of one cylinder, showing in side view one of the air supply conduits; and

Figure 4 is a section on line 4 4 of Figure 2. 75 The airplane body is generally indicated at B, and the engine is generally indicated at E. This lengine is of the radial type, preferably having nine cylinders. Each cylinder l0 has formed therein, toward its upper end, a port, such as indicated at 11, which serves as an inlet port for the air which must be supplied to support combustion of the fuel injected. Each such port l1 is controlled by al valve 12 operated intermittently by valve operatlng mechanism enclosed in the housing 13, which mechanism is actuated directly or indirectly from the crankshaft of the engine.

Secured upon the top of each cylinder, and to one side of the same, is a conduit 14, the axes of the conduits being disposed at rightangles to a plane which includes the cylinder axes and each conduit being substantially bisected by such plane; that is, the portions of each of the con. duits which lie on opposite sides of the engine plane are substantially identical in length- `and cross-sectional area, the conduits comprising in this instance, as a matter of fact, parallel cylinf drical members. Connecting each port ll to the adjacent conduit 14 is a passage 15. this pasfA 100 sage being formed, so far as possible, as a Ven-v, turi tube to facilitate the passage of fiuid therethrough, and opening into conduit 14 substantial-- ly at the mid-point thereof.

A valve is indicated at 16, this .valve lbeing mounted upon a stem 17 which extends in a direction transverse to the axis of conduit 14 and` preferably parallel to the cylinder axis. Stem 17 is rotatably supported bearing portions 18 formed integral with the conduit 14. At the upper end of each valve stem 17 is a valve operating lever 19, and these several valve operating levers may be all connected by suitable mechanism to a common operating member which is accessible from the dash of the airplane, this arrangement permitting the pilot to swing the valves 16 of the several conduits 14 in unison whenever he desires to effect such an adjustment.

The ports l1 and connected passages may serve as air ports or as combined air and exhaust ports. In the present instance the ports are of the combined type, the engine operating on four cycles, the Valve 12 being opened on the suction stroke of the piston, closed on the compression and explosion strokes, and again opened on the exhaust stroke yso that the passage 15 and port 11 constitute means, not only for the introduction of combustion supporting air into the cylinder, but for the conduction away from the cylinder of the spent products of combustion.

As will be seen from Figure l of the drawing, the ends of conduits 14 which are forwardly directed are open to the atmosphere, while those ends of the same conduits which are rearwardly directed are connected by branches 20 to the exhaust manifold 21. The forward end of each conduit 14, therefore, serves as an air inlet portion while the rear end serves asa conduit for products of combustion, whichare immediately delivered into the exhaust manifold. The function of valve 16 may be easily understood from an inspection of Figure 4. It may be swung about itspivotal axisto any one of a number of positions. For instance, it may be moved to such position that it oifers little or no resistance to the passage of fluid through the conduit from front to back. It may be moved outwardly to exert a considerable deflecting influence on the column of air, tending to direct this column of air into the cylinder, or it may be moved to such position that the quantity of air which finds. its way through passage 15 into the cylinder is cut down and a porvtion thereof supplanted by exhaust gases from .prises spent products of combustion, and in this manner the cylinders may be readily heated after they have been chilled somewhat, as where the airplane has been operated with the fuel supply throttled down during gliding, particularly at high altitudes. Where the air is quite cold and the' engine is not operated at full load, the cylinders become considerably chilled as a. result of the cooling effect of the air charges, and, when chilled to a very considerable extent, it is often most diflicult to start the engine again. The valve 16 may be so manipulated under such circumstances that the air introduced into the cylinders flows through the hot exhaust pipe and is hence highly preheated.

Because of the fact that the conduits 14, passages 15, and valves 16 are so designed that they function in the same manner whether the air flows into the conduits from the front of the engine, or from the rear, the engine may be mounted upon an airplane with its propeller toward the front or toward the rear of the same; that is, itmay be mounted either to serve as a puller or as a pusher. This enables the manufacturer to make a single type of engine which is equally suitable for both pusher and puller service, and enables the airplane manufacturer to use a single type of engine for either service.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

l. In an internal combustion engine, a cylinder having a port therein which serves as an air inlet port and also as an exhaust port, a conduit extending transversely of the cylinder, both ends of which are substantially identical and each end of which may serve either as the air inlet port or be connected to an exhaust manifold, said conduit and cylinder port being brought into communication by a connecting passage which opens into the conduit at about the mid-point thereof, and valve means positioned in said conduit adjacent the mid-point thereof for controlling the quantity of air flowing into the connecting passage and cylinder, regardless of the direction of flow of air through said conduit.

2. In an internal combustion engine, in combination, a cylinder having an air inlet port, a conduit extending transversely of the cylinder through which all of the air necessary for combustion within the cylinder may pass in either direction of flow, said conduit being connected to the port by a passage which opens into the conduit at about the mid-point thereof, and valve means positioned in said conduit, adjacent the place of intersection of the conduit and passage, for controlling the quantity of air flowing into the connecting passage and cylinder, regardless of the direction of now of air through said conduit.

3. In an internal combustion engine, in combination, a cylinder having an air inlet port, a passage leading therefrom, a conduit disposed at right angles to the passage, said conduit and pasin the conduit adjacent the point of intersection of the conduit and passage for controlling the j quantity of air flowing into the passage, regardless of the direction of flow of air through the conduit.

4. An internal combustion engine of the radial ltype and designed for airplane use, either as a i puller or a pusher engine, comprising a plurality of radially disposed cylinders the axes of which are disposed in a common plane `and having air inlet ports formed therein, passages the axes of which are disposed in said plane for leading air to the respective cylinder ports, air conduits dis# posed normally to said plane, there being one conduit associated with each cylinder, the portions `of each of said conduits which lie on opposite sides of said plane being substantially identical in length and cross-sectional area, the several air passages opening into the conduits respectively at approximately the mid-points of the latter, and a valve positioned in each conduit at the junction of the conduit andpassage for controlling the quantity of air flowing into the passage, regardless of the direction of flow of air through the conduit.

5. A Diesel engine of the radial type having a propeller fixed on one end of an axially disposed crankshaft and adapted for use either as an airplane .pusher or airplane puller, comprising a plurality of cylinders, the axes of which are disposed in a common plane, a common airinlet and exhaust passage for each cylinder, means associated with each of said passages for conning and directing air thereinto and discharging exhaust therefrom, said means being symmetrically arranged with respect to the plane of the cylinders and adapted to supply air to the cyl- A engine cylinders and to exhaust rearwardly and a single valve in each means to apportion air and exhaust gases delivered to said passage on intake by the cylinder.

6. A Diesel engine of the radial type having a propeller fixed on one end of an axially disposed crankshaft and adapted for use either as an airplane pusher o'r. airplane puller, comprising a plurality of cylinders, the axes of which are disposed in acommon plane, a common air inlet and exhaust vport for each cylinder, and means associated with each of said ports for conning and directing air thereinto and discharging exhaust therefrom, said means being setrically arranged with respect to the plane of the cylinders and adapted to supply air to the cylinders whether the engine is disposed with the propeller in advance or in rear of the plane of the engine cylinders, said means includinga single mecha-Y nism for controlling the quantity of exhaust mixed with the inowing air whether the dow of air be from the propeller side or the reverse.;

'7. A Diesel engine of the radial type having a propeller fixed on one end of an axially disposed crankshaft and adapted for use eithery as an airplane pusher or airplane puller, comprising a plurality o'f cylinders, the axes of which are dis- ,posed in a common plane, air inlet ports in said cylinders, and means associated with each of said ports for confining yand directing air thereinto,` said means being symmetrically arranged with respect to thevplane of the cylinders and adapted to supply air to thecylinders whether the engine is disposed Withthe propeller in advance or in rear of the plane ofthe engine cylinders, said means including a single adjustable valve also positioned symmetrically with respect to the plane of the cylinders for controlling the quantity of inflowing vair whether the flow of air be from the propeller side or the reverse.

8. A Diesel engine of the radial type having a propeller fixed on one end of an axially disposed crankshaft and adapted for use eitheras an airplane pusher or airplane puller, comprising a plurality of cylinders, the axes of which are disposed in a common plane, inlet ports in said cylinders, and means associated with each of said ports for confining and directing a fluid thereinto, said means being symmetrically arranged with respect to the'plane of the cylinders and adapted te supply uid to the vcylinders whether the engine is disposed with the propeller in advance or in rear ofthe plane of the engine cyl-` inders, said means comprising an open-ended conduit, the axis of which is disposed normally Y 3 to the planeof the engine cylinders, and having an opening midway of its length through which uid may pass to the cylinder port, together with adjustable mechanism associated with said conduit for regulating the quantity'of uid entering the port from each end thereof while the total quantity remains the same.

9. A Diesel engine of the radial type having a propeller xed on one end of an axially disposed crankshaft and adapted for use either as an airplane pusher or airplane puller, comprisingfa plurality of cylinders, the axes of which are disposed in a common plane, air inlet ports in said cylinders, and means associated with each of said ports for confining and directing air thereinto, said means being symmetrically arranged with .respect to theplane of the cylinders and adapted to supply air to the cylinders whether the engine is disposed with the propeller inadvance or in rear of the plane of the engine cylinders, said means comprising an open-ended conduit, the axis of which is disposed normally t'o the plane of the engine cylinders, and having an opening midway of its length through which air may pass to the cylinder port, together with valve means positioned in said conduit adjacent said opening for controlling the amount of air entering the port regardless of the direction of air ow through the conduit.

10. A Diesel engine of the radial type having a propeller fixed on 4one end of an axially disposed crankshaft and adapted for use either as .an airplane pusher or an airplane puller, comprising a plurality of cylinders/the axes of which are disposed in a common plane, a port in each cylinder which serves as a common air inlet and exhaust port, and means associated with each port for confining and directing air to said cylin- 'der port and conducting away products of combustion, said means comprising an open-ended conduit havingits axis disposed normally to the plane of the engine cylindersand having an opening intermediate its vends in communication with the cylinder port, together with an adjustable device in said conduit by means of vwhich the relative quantities of air and products of combustion passing tothe associated cylinder port during intake may be regulated whether the flow of air be from the propeller side or the reverse. V

11. 'I'he combination set forth in claim l0 in which-the said device comprises a` valve mounted in the conduit and movable across the mouth of said opening. 1

EMMA F. WOOLSON,

of lthe .Estate of Lionel M. AWoolson,

Deceased. 

